


N is for Necessity

by MariaPriest



Series: Stargate Drabbles' Alphabet Challenge [15]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-18 17:39:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14857214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaPriest/pseuds/MariaPriest
Summary: O'Neill is determined to get the people on the Destiny home.





	N is for Necessity

**Author's Note:**

> Occurs during the Stargate Universe episode "Air"

Slowly rising from a deep-dive kel-no-reem session, much deeper than he'd ever gone, Jack O'Neill's thoughts were a jumble of English, Arabic, and Ancient.

"Damn," he muttered, shaking his head. He blinked rapidly a number of times before the inexplicable tearing cleared. He speculated that the tears, as well as the cold sweat that made his clothes cling to him uncomfortably, were from how hard he worked to access the knowledge of the Ancients still within.

Deliberately, he surveyed the private quarters off his office at HomeWorld Command. No one had entered, or at least nothing had been disturbed, per his strict orders. The only thing different from the start of kel-no-reem was the flashing light on his phone. It signaled, undoubtedly, mass hysteria.

He wasn't the only one concerned about the people and their whereabouts after bolting through the stargate on Icarus. All of the military, the politicians, and the UN people in the know were concerned and breathing down his neck to come up with a solution. Didn't matter that the problem hadn't been fully defined and probably wouldn't for a few days, if at all.

He didn't blame them; not really. He wanted - _needed_ \- them safe and sound, too. As safe as anyone involved in the Stargate Program could be, that is.

And now, he knew what he had to do. Even if it meant dying - or worse.

"Damn," he repeated a little louder when the shivering began. He took several deep breaths and stood, though a bit wobbly on his feet. Slowly, he stripped to his skin, dropping each damp piece of clothing in a pile on the couch.

Adopting a wide stance, he lumbered toward the small bathroom that included a shower stall, all the while complaining to himself that he could heal other people but not himself. No way would he admit the current trouble with his gait was most likely due to the effects of delving into his own personal but incomplete Ancient repository. He opened the stall door and glanced up at the shower head. He turned on the water. The force of the water was invigorating without being damaging. Chuckling as he recalled a _Seinfeld_ episode, he said, "At least it's not a Commando 450."

NNNN

Rodney McKay sighed quite audibly and dramatically when he disconnected the call from HomeWorld Command. "That's just great," he stage-whispered. More loudly to his companion on the bridge of Atlantis, he whined, "O'Neill himself calls and says he's coming for a visit. Doesn't he know I have _important_ work to do and can't be bothered to play nurse maid to a desk jockey?"

Lt. Colonel John Sheppard half-laughed at Rodney's enhanced sense of self-importance. True, the scientist was incredibly brilliant, at least in the same smart zone with Sam Carter, and had performed some heroic acts, but his lack of modesty and humility did make him an easy target for laughter, even ridicule. "Rodney, I'm sure General O'Neill is not coming here just to make your life miserable." He sighed. "And he certainly deserves to be called something other than a 'desk jockey.' He and his team _have_ saved the planet, not to mention the galaxy, more than a few times."

"Yeah, well, that _may_ be true, but what has he done _lately_?"

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "Doesn't convincing the IOC to let us go back to Pegasus once we've figured out _how_ to build and then _actually build_ a few drone chairs and some other planetary defenses count for something?"

McKay looked up and waved his stylus with a flourish. "I suppose so. But he really shouldn't get credit for doing the right thing."

Sheppard chuckled at the puzzle that was Rodney McKay. How could someone see supposed flaws in everyone else and not see any in himself? "So, does that mean you won't be insisting on getting a Nobel Prize every time you do the right thing?"

McKay squirmed his discomfort at Sheppard calling him out. "Welllll ... not _every_ thing I do deserves a Nobel."

"Yeah, Rodney, just _almost_ everything you do." He shook his head and snorted lightly.

Moments later, Lt. General Jack O'Neill appeared in a shimmer of white Asgard transport light. "Colonel, Doctor," he said as Sheppard jumped to his feet. Before the junior officer could snap to attention and salute, O'Neill gestured for him to sit back down. "McKay, with me."

"But, General, I'm busy! Can't you take Sheppard with you? I'm close to discovering where the planetary shield specs are. If I stop now, no telling how long it'll take me to get back to where I am!"

O'Neill sighed as if he were trying to maintain patience with a recalcitrant child. "For cryin' out loud, bookmark the damn thing!" In a quieter voice, he grumbled, "For someone who's supposed to be so smart, you could've come up with a better reason than that. Even _I_ know you should be able to recreate your search. Now let's go."

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Rodney emitted a short growl of annoyance. "I _knew_ I should've taken the day off like everybody else," he muttered, but not soft enough that O'Neill couldn't hear him.

"Don't think you can't be replaced, McKay. Felger is itching to get reassigned here," O'Neill shot at the scientist as he took off at a brisk but slightly uneven and wobbly pace.

Rodney's look of horror at hearing that anyone could actually think that incompetent boob could possibly replace him anywhere quickly transformed to one of resignation. He shrugged and muttered to John, "My adventure in babysitting."

"Somehow, Rodney, I think he's the one more likely to do the babysitting."

McKay scowled at his friend and took off at a brisk trot after the general's pissed bark of "McKay?!"

NNNN

Sheppard, not for the first time, wondered why Atlantis seemed ... different every time the general visited. The closest he could get to describing the perceived change was the city felt more alive. He pushed the thought away.

A moment later, his military-neutral face was marred by a tightly knitted brow. He debated with himself about whether something was off with the general and if so, what he should do. After all, the man had gone through so much in the last dozen years; he deserved to be above some, or at least most, suspicion. And despite his time on Earth, he still didn't know O'Neill that well.

Which was why he picked up a comm unit. Pulling up a GPS-style directory, he found the nearest person he thought would be useful. A push of a screen icon lit it up immediately. It took several seconds before he heard, "Daniel Jackson."

"Daniel, it's Sheppard."

"Hi, John. What's up?"

"I think there might be something up with the general. He's on Atlantis. Came onboard with only a couple minutes' notice."

"Well, knowing Jack, that's not all that unusual."

"There's more, Daniel. He doesn't seem like himself."

"That's not uncommon, either, John. He'll act, um, differently to throw people off sometimes. Can you be more specific?"

"Well, he seemed a little more ... impatient. Cranky, too. And worried, I guess."

"There are more than 80 people missing somewhere. Knowing Jack, he's seeing this as his fault and his responsibility to get ... them ... back." The last few words were said in a hushed tone.

John grimaced at the worry that came through loud and clear. "One other thing. He's walking kind of funny. Like it's a little spastic or something. Has something happened, like are his knees bothering him?"

Another long pause, during which Sheppard held his breath. He was not getting a good feeling about this. He exhaled. "Daniel, you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah, John. Just thinking. Uh, can you turn on the life signs detector?"

A second later, Sheppard said, "Done."

"See anything out of the ordinary?"

John's eyes widened in disbelief. "You could say that," he whispered.

"What?"

"Seeing only two life signs, as expected. But one, the leading one, is glowing golden. Never saw _that_ before. And they're in a part of Atlantis we haven't really explored yet." He stopped to swallow the fear that suddenly choked him. "That's not quite right. It's a part we didn't even know _existed_."

"Dammit, Jack," Daniel muttered loudly enough for John to hear. "John, I think I know what he's doing. I'm at the SGC. I'm coming over there as soon as I can. Send the coordinates to the beaming platform for the closest safe place to Jack. And keep this comm open. I want updates every minute or sooner if something, um, more unusual happens. Thanks, John."

"Got it, Daniel."

NNNN

Three minutes later, Daniel Jackson was on Atlantis, with Sheppard guiding him to his best friend whom he knew was going to lose - or worse, sacrifice - himself in an effort to find those lost somewhere in the universe.

Then it got worse.

"Uh, Daniel, they've disappeared," Sheppard said with marginally controlled panic.

"What do you mean?"

"The detector isn't showing them any longer. They just ... _vanished_."

Jackson winced. "Aw, crap."

NNNN

"Aw, crap." McKay's incessant yammering continued to contribute substantially to Jack's steadily growing headache.

"General, I'm asking one more time. How did you know this place was here? And how in the galaxy did we get here? What is this place? Did you make this appear?"

"This place" was a small room at the end of a long, narrow corridor just high enough for the general to stand upright. Both the room and the hallway were illuminated by what appeared to be multi-colored phosphorescent paint moving in a way that evoked serenity. Neither existed before O'Neill tapped out a complex code on a part of the floor that looked no different from any other part. The room itself housed only a broad, deep, translucent console packed with millions of very thin, short sparkling fibers that changed colors randomly, or at least in no readily identifiable pattern. Tucked beneath it was a control chair that resembled a Victorian-style chaise lounge. It was unlike anything found to date on Atlantis.

O'Neill closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "What I wouldn't give for a zat right now… Maybe I could just punch his throat to shut him up," he whispered. Loudly, he snarled, "Scientists."

If McKay had heard him, he gave no indication. "General? O'Neill! Are you paying _any_ attention to me? Where the _hell_ did you take me?"

The urge to crush the scientist's larynx finally passed. Jack gave him a threatening glare. In a hushed, steely tone, he said, "McKay, for the last time, shut. The. Hell. _Up_."

Rodney imagined the family jewels doing exactly what O'Neill's last word had directed. Though no one had ever actually told him the general's shrouded history, he was certain the man had been special or black ops. So O'Neill was one extremely dangerous person. Like Teal'c and a few other SGC members. Translation: tread very carefully.

When he finally found his voice, he squeaked, "Don't have to tell me twice."

O'Neill sneered. "Got me there, McKay. I had to tell you _ten_ times." After a few moments of blessed silence, he continued. "Okay, here's the deal. I'm gonna say stuff that might or might not make sense to you. _Don't ask any questions_. And for cryin' out loud, just listen for once. You have to remember everything _exactly_ as I say it and tell Daniel."

"So why didn't you have Daniel come with you instead of me in the first place? I was doing something _important_ , General."

O'Neill squeezed his eyes shut and put the heels of his hands against the throbbing eyeballs as an incredible agony rolled around in his head. " _Oy, deus_ ," he forced through a tight throat.

Rodney's eyes, on the other hand, opened fully in shocked realization. "That, that was Latin. Well, Yiddish and Latin ... You're speaking Latin! You're going all _Ancient_ on me, aren't _you_?!"

NNNN

"Go left. It's right around that corner where I lost 'em, Daniel."

Jackson tried to control the fear that suddenly multiplied. "That's okay, John. I'll find 'em."

"Good luck. I'll stay on the comm."

"Thanks," Daniel said as he rounded the corner that somehow had swallowed Jack and Rodney.

And then he stopped dead in his tracks to stare at the improbably present and incredibly beautiful hallway hovering a few inches off the floor that stretched who knew how far. "Oh," he whispered in awe.

A shrill wail filled with fear and an indefinable something else startled him to action. Easily but carefully jumping into the hallway, he raced toward the other end … and he hoped to a live and more or less mentally intact human Jack O'Neill.

NNNN

"Dammit!" cursed Sheppard under his breath. Daniel Jackson had disappeared too. "Daniel? Daniel. Come in."

He breathed shallowly while he waited an age for a reply. "Daniel! Come in! Are you okay? Did you find O'Neill?! Come in, dammit!"

After another age of waiting, he wondered, _What the hell do I do now?_

NNNN

O'Neill scowled at the girlish screech that erupted from McKay's mouth when he grabbed the scientist's clothes and twisted them tightly at the base of his throat. This brought him scant inches away from Rodney's frightened, perspiring face. Inwardly, Jack smirked when he realized McKay was holding his breath.

"Do what I say," he said through teeth clenched in both anger and pain, "and I won't have to shoot you."

Rodney, eyes wide and round with panic, squeaked out, "You wouldn't. Really. You don't have a gun."

"Then I'll use my hands." Jack gave him a stare that was an unequivocal yes, he could and would kill him with just his hands.

A wild-eyed and suddenly compliant McKay nodded several times rapidly. "Okay, so you would. Doing what you say."

O'Neill released his hold, stepped back, and calmly straightened McKay's shirt and sweater. He gave the man, once again holding his breath, a sinister smile, meant only to tease him. " _Bonium puero_ ," he said while he patted the now-orderly clothes.

With that, Rodney exhaled forcefully. He brushed away O'Neill's hand, which was now on his shoulder. "You can't do this, General! Whatever it is that you're gonna do. Sam and Jackson will _kill_ me, unless Teal'c gets to me first and he'll _torture_ me before he _kills_ me."

O'Neill's expression changed from sinister to peaceful. "Just listen and remember. Tell my team …"

NNNN

Even though his steps echoed strangely from his sprint in the corridor, he heard Jack's familiar voice say, "Good boy," in the Ancient form of Latin.

 _I'm too late!_ His heart pounded faster.

He skidded to a stop at the threshold to the room. It was obvious neither man had noticed him, so focused they were on each other.

"Tell our team what, Jack?" Daniel managed to ask in one breath.

O'Neill closed his eyes, following it closely with a shoulder slump and a murmured, "Sheppard is so busted back to cadet." At the same time, Rodney looked at Daniel with great relief and blurted out at top speed, "Thank God you're here, Doctor Jackson! O'Neill's speaking Ancient and he's threatening me and -"

"Shut up, Rodney," Jackson interrupted. "And that's _General_ O'Neill to you. Afford him the respect he earned and deserves."

McKay's hurt and haughty expression nearly made Daniel laugh out loud despite the situation. "But-but-"

"Shut up, McKay," Jack growl-whispered without moving. "And now that Daniel's here, there's no reason for you to stay, so _go away_."

"I'm not sure I can find my way back! What if I get _lost_?!"

Jack, now standing up straight, and Daniel said together, "I'm good with that."

Rodney threw up his arms in defeat. "Well, that's fine then! I'll just leave. And when I don't get back, you'll have to send out a rescue team and if I'm lucky, I'll be dead because otherwise -"

"Get out." The simple words rumbled softly yet menancingly from Jack's throat.

Scared speechless, McKay nearly tripped over his own feet and was on a collision course with Daniel until the archeologist gracefully stepped aside to give him the room he needed to flee.

After a few moments of tense silence, Daniel realized he was the one who'd have to break it. "So, what do you think you're doing, Jack?" he asked nonchalantly.

Slowly O'Neill turned to look at Daniel straight on for the first time since his arrival. The anger he exuded from every pore in his body caused Daniel to shiver involuntarily. "My job, Daniel," he responded with an unexpected calmness.

"Dying, Jack? Is that your job? Haven't you done enough of that already?"

O'Neill took a step closer to his friend. "You do not want go there, Daniel. I seem to recall something about a pot calling a kettle black?"

"Okay! Round 1 to the man in the uniform," Daniel said in a miserable attempt to ease the tension. 

"Yes, Daniel I'm a soldier. You'd _think_ after all these years, you'd get that through your hard head." Jack paused to let an unexpected spike in his headache pass. Finally, he took a deep breath and continued. "It's my _job_ to see that my team, which has always included all the people under my command, stays alive and hopefully safe. If that means I die …" The final word and the seconds of silence that followed hung in the air like toxic fog.

Finally, Daniel took a few small steps closer to his friend. "You've sacrificed enough, Jack. Hell, more than enough. You've died almost more times than I care to count, and you have died more than you'll ever admit. Enough's enough, Jack. Time to -"

"Time to _what_ , Daniel? Time to give up? Leave 'em up to their own devices? You wouldn't do that. Dammit, Daniel, you've almost died and actually died more than a few times yourself - all to save others. I can _save_ these people, I _need_ to save them, if I can just -"

Now Daniel interrupted. "You've saved countless people's lives already. There _has_ to be another way to save them that doesn't involve you dying or worse. Don't you always say there's a Plan B?"

An instant later, Jack was in Daniel's face. "Don't throw that at me, Jackson," he said through clenched teeth. "You're the one always jumping in without a second thought. Hell, without a _first_ thought." He stepped back one pace, still fuming.

"Okay, so no Plan B yet. Why can't you just give this a little time?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Because we don't know if they _have_ any time."

"So assume they do! What's so hard about that, Jack? Give yourself some time to think of something else. You've got a lot of resources to tap."

"One resource we don't have is time, Daniel."

The subtle tone of sadness and regret underscoring Jack's words told Daniel what he needed to know. Softly, he said, "You're blaming yourself for this unpredictable fiasco and if they die, you'll blame yourself for that, too."

Jack closed his eyes and turned his head away from Daniel so he couldn't see him struggle with how to say what he needed to say - in English. He swallowed hard. "The buck has to stop somewhere, Dr. Jackson."

The light bulb sprang to life in Daniel's memory. "Is this the way you're going to redeem yourself? Sacrifice yourself to save 80 people because you've killed so many? Sam told me what you said about killing people after Jonas Hanson died."

O'Neill opened his eyes but still avoided looking at Daniel. "So what if it is? The why doesn't matter. What matters is the outcome - a net gain of life."

"Do you know if that will really be the case? What if going into this thing kills you soon after you tell us what the solution is and we discover we still need you to make the rescue work?"

_Damn! I hate it when Daniel throws crap like that back me!_ "Well, there's Sheppard and others with that freakin' gene."

"But they've never had the repository downloaded into their brains. That _must_ make your command of things Ancient superior to theirs."

Squinting against the light that suddenly began shooting fiery daggers through his head, Jack faced his friend once again. "It might."

"Might? What are you holding out on me, Jack?"

O'Neill sighed with resignation; Daniel was sometimes just way too perceptive or smart or both. "Thor told me something pretty ... interesting in our private meeting before all the Asgard took that little one-way flight to Valhalla. Seems that only a portion of the Ancients' knowledge in that grabber-sucker-thingy downloaded in my head the first time. Thor thought it stopped because it sensed that I'd die if I got the whole enchilada. The Asgard couldn't get rid of it so they did the only thing they could. They just blocked it.

"But I got a _much_ bigger dose the second time because my brain had been primed with the first download. No little gray creature around then to block it. And of course, I was in stasis for so long.

"So, they lied when they said they'd removed it years ago. They lied because they didn't know me and didn't trust me yet. Only thing that would work was to keep it from spreading." His hands closed into tight fists. "Well, lucky me because the second download had plenty of time to write ... stuff on, in, my brain and even my damn DNA!" he bellowed with raw anger.

Outwardly unfazed by the outburst but inwardly frightened by what this meant, Daniel tried to tamp down his own angry reaction. "What? That's impossible, Jack!"

"Daniel, how many times have we said something's impossible, or Carter or Teal'c or even Jonas, and we were proven wrong? Oh, I don't know. Wait, I _do_ know! _Close to 100%_."

"How can that be? So much of our DNA is junk."

"It's not junk, Daniel. It's noncoding. I oughta know. I've been reading a lot on genetics since I found out I have that damned ATA-boy gene. And how soon you forget Go'uld genetic memory."

Daniel looked chagrined. "So, you take Round 2."

"Look, Daniel, Thor wasn't that sure because the Ancients were more advanced than the Asgard, but he thinks the head sucker may have tripped some genetic switch and well, enabled me to receive the knowledge. He thought if you or Carter had the repository dump, either one of you would have been dead in a few hours. Something about me having this pretty unique conserving DNA is why I wasn't dead in a couple of days. That and the partial download. And he's pretty sure that using Ancient technology like the 'gate just made it all that more ... efficient." He wasn't about to get into the quantum physics jibber-jabber Thor told him.

"So it's not just one gene. It's the gene and noncoding DNA. And epigenetics. That would explain why you have such a strong expression." Daniel was not completely surprised by this. He'd known the second download had been different. But _this_ different? Was his nightmare of Jack turning into an Ancient leaving that realm and plunging head-long into reality?

"Give the man a kewpie doll."

"So why do you have to concentrate sometimes to get things to work?"

Jack sighed. "Daniel, you forget my early training. Resistance. And to an extent, compartmentalization. I'm really good at both. And believe it or not, I was able to put that unwanted gift in its own little box. It helps me resist using it. It's really hard for me to break that discipline. Makes it harder for others to break me, uh, it." _No way am I telling him I'm petrified that every time I operate some Ancient doohickey I could be getting closer to losing good ol' Tau'ri me_.

Daniel simply stared at his friend for several beats. He knew Jack had a highly disciplined mind, but often forgot about it because of the man's persistence in appearing stupid. "Okay," he said quietly. "I'll buy that. But it's still not an excuse to put your life in jeopardy."

Jack rolled his eyes. _You'd think I'd have learned by now that I'll never get him to understand_ , he thought. "Fine, Daniel. That's your opinion. But it's _my_ life and because there's a really good chance I can help those people get home by doing the Ancient thing, it's my duty to try this." He took a deep breath and dove for the chair, now only a short distance.

Daniel cursed himself for not noticing that Jack had slowly inched himself closer to the chair during their conversation. He lunged after Jack in hopes of knocking him away from what would surely be a horrible fate.

He succeeded only in pushing Jack fully onto the chair and himself partially between Jack and the console.

NNNN

As soon as Rodney's signal re-appeared on the life-signs detector screen, Sheppard blew out a deep breath of relief. _One out, two to go_.

But the signal stayed motionless. Smacking the "switch" for city-wide communications - which the general had helped the Atlantis team find and activate - John cleared his throat. "Uh, Rodney, get yourself back to the control room now," he cajoled through firmly gritted teeth.

"No, John. I'm staying here. They might need me."

After several more increasingly loud interchanges, Sheppard gave in to Rodney's self-important stubbornness. To calm himself, he took to pacing in front of the control panel.

At the same time he heard an "Oh, shit!" from Rodney, the stargate, which was supposed to have been deactivated so the SGC 'gate would be the only functioning one in the solar system, began to spin. "Damn!" he uttered as he tried to make the iris, which was still supposed to work, close. The dial-in sequence finished incredibly fast. He cursed again when there was no iris movement, no kawoosh, just the sparkling, rippling event horizon. No IDC came through - not that he was expecting one.

One hand pushed the emergency alert to the SGC at the same time he shouted, "Rodney, get your butt to the control room NOW! Someone's trying to come through the -"

The bottom quarter of the event horizon shimmered and wavered. The sight cut off his ability to speak temporarily, but it didn't stop him from moving to the nearest arms locker of zat guns and other weapons.

Then, much more softly, he said, "Uh, too late," as a small, smiling figure emerged from the 'gate.

"Hello! I'm here to help Jack."

Stunned didn't adequately describe what Sheppard was feeling. Here was this creature who looked like a human boy of about ten, dressed in what could best be described as hippie clothes, who had been playing around in the dirt and leaves and twigs on an autumn day and who spoke perfect, accent-less English. Weirdest thing of all, he was referring to the general by his first name.

"Uh, you mean General O'Neill?" Sheppard mentally kicked himself for such an idiotic first question. He should've asked something more useful, like "Who the blazes are you?"

The boy laughed confidently. Inexplicably, the sound warmed John's spirit, made him feel safe. "That's what you call Jack? That's funny. He really doesn't like to stand on ceremony much."

Sheppard smiled because knew that about O'Neill personally, too. When they played gin rummy, chess, or cribbage in their all-too-rare spare time, they were Jack and John. Official business followed the bare minimum of military protocol. The general - and the rest of the remaining original SG team members - were shown great respect without need of rules.

But how the hell did this _alien_ kid know anything about O'Neill?

"I got here as soon as I could. We have to hurry."

" _We_?"

The boy gave Sheppard an indulgent smile. "Yes. I'll need your help to help Jack help Daniel. And then we'll probably need to help Jack with himself."

" _My_ help. Riiiight. How does anyone who can come through the 'gate like you did need _my_ help?"

"You have Alteran healing abilities, like Jack, just not as strong."

"I _do_?" he said as if he didn't believe a word of what this kid said.

"Yes, you do. Now we really must hurry."

The boy, now delivering a smile of reassurance, waved his arm in a circle. John saw the control room, including the bright lights of Asgard transport activity, fade from his vision and felt his body tingle pleasantly.

In the next instant, he and the still-smiling alien boy were standing near a very wild-eyed McKay.

"John! What the -"

"Don't ask, Rodney. I don't have an answer."

"Hi!" piped up the boy. Rodney stared at him in a mix of fascination and fear. "John and I are here to help Jack. You should stay here."

Sheppard, awed by the light show in the tunnel that he knew led to the general and Daniel, continued to look at it while he said, "Do what, uh ..."

"Nafrayu," the alien offered in the pause.

"Yeah, do what Nafrayu says or I'll sic O'Neill, Sam, _and_ Teal'c on you."

McKay's Adam's apple bobbed noticeably as he gulped. "So, shout if you need me," he responded with faux confidence.

"That's a good Rodney." Sheppard looked down at the boy by his side. "So, into the breach, Nafrayu?"

The boy gave the officer a questioning look but said nothing as he took Sheppard's hand and floated the two of them through the temporary corridor.

John, thoroughly enjoying the ride, smiled at Rodney's parting shot: "When you're done, can you do that flying thing with me?"

NNNN

Before he could push Daniel away, O'Neill found himself swearing and falling onto the chair with Daniel's head on his abdomen.

Immediately after that, he was blind, deaf, and drifting everywhere and nowhere. Somehow, he knew his eyes were open, but everything was dark. The silence was as black as his vision. He knew his body was on the chair. There was nothing but the now. Yet he felt no fear, not even a little concern. He knew instinctively this was how it was supposed to be.

Suddenly, he sensed the sparkling fibers begin to congregate around his head. They started to glide down his body, slowly engulfing him in their bright, intelligent warmth that smelled like fresh-cut grass and lime. He wasn't sure, but he thought they were waiting for him to ask questions.

When the elongating fibers reached his midsection, he felt rather than heard a sharp cry of pain followed by a long exhalation. The fibers continued on, single-minded in their journey to whatever destination, if any, they had.

He became aware of a weight on him, though with the realization that the weight seemed surreal, imagined. He ordered his memory to play back the last few minutes. This proved more difficult than he thought it would be because the fibers were starting to penetrate him, urging him to focus on ... what? Them? His questions? He got the sense they were reading him at the sub-atomic level. It gave every cell in his body what he could only describe as quantum goose bumps.

That chilled him to the bone. He fought the invasion and doubled the effort at remembering the very recent past. And then it was there.

Daniel had followed him into the proverbial lion's den. The cry had been from Daniel. Intuitively, he knew his friend was dead. Or at the least, very close to it.

Attempt to save Daniel or the people on _Destiny_? He cursed at being on the horns of yet another dilemma.

NNNN

John was wide-eyed and open-mouthed, despite everything he'd experienced since joining the Stargate Program, when he saw the room and what it contained. He was so enthralled that he didn't notice the gentle landing Nafrayu had accomplished.

The low hum that barely touched his eardrums was breathtakingly melodic. The light show of the filaments swarming around O'Neill was magnificent. They seemed to dance with joyful abandon in and out of the general, who was actually glowing a soft white, interrupted only by the presence of Daniel's head on his body.

The filaments were doing something different to Daniel. When they touched his head and neck, they sparked like a lighter that wouldn't quite turn to flame. Daniel's head twitched ever so slightly with each attempt, John assumed, to enter him like they were doing with the general.

A brief look at O'Neill's face revealed a scowl that deepened the cleft between his eyebrows. Turning his attention back to Daniel, John noticed that his friend wasn't breathing. Immediately the urge to run to him and pull him away so he could start resuscitation was upon him.

But the alien boy's hand, though not forceful, communicated something that gave him pause. He looked down at the boy. "I have to save him - uh, _them_!"

Nafrayu smiled with gentle patience, as if John were the child and he the adult. "If you pull them apart now, it will harm them both greatly. Jack must do this before we can help."

John, ever ready to jump into action, gave the boy a stern, displeased look. "Well, that just doesn't seem right to me."

Nafrayu, still smiling, pointed his chin to the two entangled men. John obliged reluctantly and turned his attention back to them.

NNNN

_Well, this is another fine mess you've gotten us into, Danny,_ thought Jack as he began closing the mental doors he'd opened earlier during kel-no-reem. He hoped he could get this machine - he didn't know what the Ancients called it, but he had a few choice words to describe it - to work again. Lucky - or unlucky, depending on his mood and whatever complex Ancient doohickey he was dealing with - for him, using that doohickey came much easier after the first time. He figured it was some kind of neuromuscular memory, able to poke through his carefully constructed walls and not-entirely-successful Asgard blocks. End result was that he could save both Daniel and _Destiny_. Probably. Hopefully.

Quickly, the fibers withdrew from him as if they had read his mind, leaving him curiously bereft for a nanosecond, though it seemed like an eternity each time. Mentally, he swatted at the filaments that repeatedly and unsuccessfully tried to invade Daniel. It brought to mind that cliché about insanity and doing the same thing over and over again and wondered if these things could be considered insane. _Yet another invention of the Ancients that had some major flaws_.

He surmised he'd have to free Daniel physically from the fibers. Crunching his abdominal muscles, he sat up and rolled his friend onto his thighs. He bent his knees to raise Daniel up high enough so his head wouldn't loll about on his neck but could still grab his shoulders to wrestle him out of the machine.

Jack one-armed Daniel's body close to his. He shuddered when he didn't feel the younger man's chest move with breath. His free hand secured Daniel's head, which the fibers were still trying to gain access or shock him deeper into oblivion, to his shoulder. "Here we go, Daniel. Let's hope I don't break anything on you or me." He took several deep breaths to ready himself, during which he thought, _I'm gettin' too old for this crap_.

Somehow, he wrestled them both out of the influence of the machine, the fibers finally giving up and staying where they belonged. They landed with Jack on the floor and most of Daniel's dead weight on him. Jack laughed with relief despite being faced with another problem: how the hell was he going to get Daniel off him, considering one arm was trapped and both of his legs twisted in such a way that leveraging them was not going happen easily, if at all.

But at least they were out. And now he felt eyes on him. He looked up. "Nafrayu," he said as if he had run into the boy in a park.

"Hi, Jack."

"Daniel could use some help here. Sheppard? Got something better to do?"

Before John could move, Nafrayu levitated Jackson to a supine position far enough from Jack that he could kneel beside his friend.

The general gave Daniel several breaths then felt for a pulse. "Colonel, notify SGC we have a medical emergency." He positioned his hands to start chest compressions.

Nafrayu put a small hand on Sheppard's forearm to stop him. "Wait, Jack."

"I'm not waiting for anything. Daniel's arrested," he declared as he frantically pumped away.

"Daniel has all he needs right here, Jack. The three of us can bring him back."

"What?!" Jack kept up the compressions despite his growing anger at Sheppard's blowing off his order and Nafrayu's ridiculous claim. At best he and maybe John could heal but certainly not bring Daniel back to life.

"Trust me, Jack. You know first-hand this will work."

"But you're Nox and Sheppard and I are part-time Ancients at best."

Nafrayu smiled sweetly. "Trust me."

O'Neill listened to his intuition, not the fear and panic in his head and heart. "Okay, but if this doesn't work, I'm gonna be really pissed, uh, ticked." He compressed Daniel's chest a few more times simply to overcome his own reluctance to do some Ancient thing again. "So, what do I, uh, we do?"

"Find your healing center, Jack, and bring it up to full force. Once you have, place your left hand on Daniel's heart and your right on the top of his head. Then close your eyes. You'll know what to do then."

A doubting but desperate Jack remembered he was still "young" and had much to learn, so he quickly searched for wherever this "healing center" was. He closed his eyes. In less than a second, he found it, tucked deep behind his navel. A few deep breaths and intense concentration made the center expand until he felt brilliant white energy coursing throughout and around him. _Damn, this feels good_.

He placed his hands unerringly on Daniel as Nafrayu had instructed him. His last conscious thought was that he felt different, fuller, more powerful, more connected with everything than he had been when healing Bra'tac. His mind turned off, sensing nothing but the stillness of his friend, he automatically began to resuscitate Daniel.

NNNN

Sheppard stood there, feeling more than useless. The general looked so peaceful yet so intense. What could he possibly need from someone who'd never healed even a paper cut, much less revived someone who'd stopped breathing.

"John, place your hands on Jack's shoulders and just think about sending him positive energy. Without this, he won't have enough to save Daniel and stay alive himself."

"Uh, should I close my eyes?" he asked as he positioned himself in the small space behind the general.

The boy smiled. "If you think it would help you give more easily."

John took a deep breath and said somewhat dubiously, "Okay. Here goes nothin'."

His hands came to rest on O'Neill's shoulders, which felt almost scalding to the touch. Slowly he began closing his eyes. When they were mere slits, he saw Nafrayu raise his arms until they were straight over Daniel. He snickered at his thought that the boy looked like a zombie and then he felt himself drawn into the energy that was Jack O'Neill. He gasped at the incredible strength, determination, compassion, and love before he lost awareness of everything but simply being.

NNNN

O'Neill was only dimly aware of a surge of healing energy that pulsed on his shoulders. With ease, he directed that energy down his arms, through his hands, and into Daniel.

He finally sensed a change in his friend. It was electric at first, but quickly switched to something that could only be described as organic.

He jerked moments later when beneath his left hand he felt Daniel's heart working again, a little stronger with each beat, and his chest filling with air then floating out, deeper with each cycle of breath.

A number of Daniel's heartbeats later, Jack knew without conscious awareness that his friend was back. Slowly, awareness started to resurface and the connection between the two of them faded to baseline. He felt strong hands on his shoulders for only a moment before he passed out from exhaustion and fell to his side.

NNNN

Feeling the general begin to move beneath his hands, John opened his eyes. They widened when he saw Jackson's chest rise and fall and his skin back to its healthy pink. _We did it!_

Elation disappeared when he felt the slackness that suddenly appeared in O'Neill's body. When the man started to list to the left, he controlled the fall as best he could, especially protecting his head from meeting the floor with too much force.

Then John realized how fatigued he was. He looked to Nafrayu, who had a beatific smile that had a hint of smugness to it. "Everything going to be okay?" he whispered.

"Yes. Now help me get Jack in a more comfortable position. After that, you will need to rest as well."

Sheppard slowly nodded several times, fighting off the increasingly strong urge to close his eyes and sleep that was overwhelming him. "Good. I ... t'ink ... nee' it."

John and the boy left Jack on his side, close against Daniel's supine - and alive - body, only stretching out the long legs and using his arm as a pillow. John stood but nearly fell.

Nafrayu waved a hand to keep Sheppard upright. "Now, my new friend John, you will rest in here," he said, indicating the corridor, "and all of you will awaken refreshed when you are ready." He sneaked a look at the slumbering Jack. "I will stay until he wakes up. He is so young, and I need to make sure he has learned from this." With a subtle gesture of his hand, the Nox kept John upright long enough and then helped him down gently until he was in a comfortable position in the hallway. He smiled when he heard the snore that came within seconds of his eyes closing.

NNNN

Sheppard woke first. He had to blink several times before remembering how he'd wound up in a psychedelic experience. And as promised, he did feel refreshed. He checked his watch. He should feel refreshed; he'd been out at least four hours.

Nafrayu shooed him away after reassuring him the general and Jackson were fine but they needed more rest. Reluctantly he left, in part because he was dreading all the rapid-fire questions from the ever-inquisitive Rodney McKay.

He found his friend sitting on the floor at the entrance to the corridor. Before McKay could open his mouth, John said, "Don't start, Rodney. I'm hungry, thirsty, and I have to pee. Then we'll talk." With that, Sheppard marched off in hopes of finding the nearest rest stop, and soon. He could feel Rodney hesitate but was not surprised to hear the scientist trailing behind him. No way was he going to stay and possibly face O'Neill's wrath yet again.

John smiled to himself. He could heal people. What an amazing thing that was.

The smile became an external grin.

NNNN

Jack's rise to full alertness was quick. He found himself partially cocooned around Daniel's upper body, curving slightly over his head. "Daniel?" he said, full of worry and fear, lifting his torso up a few inches to get a better look. He huffed with relief when he saw the steady rise and fall of his friend's chest. He laid back down, now noticing the total body ache with extra strength in the head and dizziness. "Thank heaven," he said softly, fatigue riding the words. "And hell, too. Guess neither place was ready for him."

A wave of dizziness exploded and his stomach threatened to empty itself. He inhaled deeply several times in hopes of dispelling some of it. The sensations finally eased enough that he thought he could speak to his "old" young friend.

"So, Nafrayu, what do you have to say for yourself? Come to tell me how rash a youngster I am, eh?"

The boy laughed. "Perhaps you're not as young as you were, Jack."

O'Neill struggled to sit without disturbing the leap-before-you-look archeologist. "Oh, yeah, definitely not as young as I used to be." He gave Nafrayu a warm smile. "Good to see you. Thanks for coming. I have the feeling I couldn't have helped Daniel without you."

"You are right, Jack. Your healing ability is strong, but it takes more than one to return life to someone. My new friend John helped, too."

"So that was his hand on me. Didn't know he could do the healing thing."

"It was a discovery for him as well, Jack. I think he's pleased with learning about this ability."

"Well, I'll tell him it ain't all it's cracked up to be. The headaches are killers. Proverbially speaking, of course," he added hurriedly when he saw the puzzled expression on the Nox's face. "So, pray tell, Nafrayu, how did you know to join me today? Not that I'm complaining. But I don't remember sending a distress signal. To _any_ body."

"You don't have the awareness of the requisite knowledge to understand how I knew to assist you." He paused, as if he was measuring what to say next. "Before Thor ... left, he visited my home. He asked that we watch out for you, because you can be injudicious at times. I volunteered. I want to help you and your fellow Tau'ri grow to adulthood." Nafrayu smiled warmly.

Jack gave him an equally warm smile. "Thanks, little guy. Now could you help me get Daniel to some place where he'll be more comfortable? And I can get something to eat?"

"Sure, Jack." After a brief moment, Nafrayu waved his hand over Jack and Daniel.

Jack experienced a short burst of disorientation and heat before finding the three of them in the Atlantis equivalent of an infirmary. Daniel was in one bed, he in the adjacent one, and Nafrayu between them. "Hey!"

"Thor warned me you would be stubborn. You need more rest, Jack. Daniel's fine and will awaken when he's ready."

"Well, okay then," Jack said, though he sounded less than agreeable.

"You and Daniel don't need me any longer, so I'll be returning home. But before I leave, though, promise me you'll think through your decisions and consult others before doing something like what you did today." The Nox paused to peer closely at Jack. "You are still needed, Jack O'Neill, by Teal'c, Sam, and Daniel as you still need them. And the galaxy still needs you as you are."

"Half-human, half-Ancient?" he said with some disdain.

Nafrayu smiled indulgently at his charge. "As Jack O'Neill who continues to grow and evolve in his own unique way, as we all do. Be open to what you have become and what you know and the needed answers will come without losing yourself."

Though he would never admit it even under the worst imaginable torture, Jack knew Nafrayu was right about him being too fast to sacrifice himself, as he knew Daniel was right. Things were different now. In ways, the galaxy - and probably the universe - was even more dangerous now than it was a decade ago. At least Earth and its allies in the Milky Way and a couple other galaxies needed as many experienced people fighting for their survival as possible. Time for him to change his definition of duty.

"Okay, okay, Nafrayu. You win. I'll be a good boy and resist doing" - he waved a hand in the air - " _stuff_ like I did today."

"Promise?"

"Promise." Then an impish smirk grew on Jack's face. "Ish."

the end  
©2017

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to CoriKay for the beta.


End file.
